History Film / TheLastAirbender

* BashBrothers: Aang and the Blue Spirit.

''The Last Airbender'' is a 2010 LiveActionAdaptation by Creator/MNightShyamalan based on ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', the word "Avatar" being omitted to prevent the title from [[WritingAroundTrademarks bumping into]] the film ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. It [[StillbornFranchise was]] planned to be the first film in a trilogy matching the three seasons of the show.

While the movie managed to roughly break even at the global box office, cold reception to the film killed its chances of breaking out as a live-action movie franchise. ''Avatar'' wouldn't get another chance at a LiveActionAdaptation until nearly a decade later, when Creator/{{Netflix}} agreed to produce a series.

While the movie managed to roughly break even at the global box office, cold reception to the film killed its chances of breaking out as a live-action movie franchise, as well as plans for a fourth season of the animated series. ''Avatar'' wouldn't get another chance at a LiveActionAdaptation until nearly a decade later, when Creator/{{Netflix}} agreed to produce a series.

*** Which, if you really think about it, is a line of thinking that [[CompletelyMissesThePoint misses the entire point of the show]], as the Fire Nation is ''supposed'' to be the post powerful nation in the ''Avatar'' world, since they were the ones waging a hundred-year war against everyone else... and ''winning''.

** Earthbenders have had their spirits broken by the Fire Nation and do not attempt to resist until Aang rallies them. In the series, they do not resist because they're kept away from earth.

* AsYouKnow: The primary mode of exposition -- Zhao even uses these exact words on multiple occasions. One major example is when Zuko, travelling incognito with his uncle, he asks a child to tell the story of how Zuko got his scar.

While the movie managed to roughly break even at the global box office, cold reception to the film killed its chances of breaking out as a live-action movie franchise, as well as plans for a fourth season of the animated series. ''Avatar'' wouldn't get another chance at a LiveActionAdaptation until nearly a decade later, when Creator/{{Netflix}} agreed to produce a series with the show's original creators.

The world of ''The Last Airbender'' consists of four nations: the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribe, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Each society has people capable of [[ElementalPowers manipulating or "bending" the element]] that is their namesake. Only one person in each generation, the Avatar, is capable of [[AllYourPowersCombined bending all of the elements]]; their duty is to be a mediator and peacekeeper of the world.

** Sokka and Katara, like most Water Tribe characters, have tan skin, dark brown hair and blue eyes. Because [[FantasyCounterpartCulture their culture is based on the Inuit]], however, many viewers think of them as Asian or Native American. In the film, they are played by white actors with brown hair and eyes, their grandmother is likewise Caucasian, and the Northern Water Tribe is comprised mainly of white actors.

** In the show, the amber-eyed Fire Nation had heavy influence from Imperial Japan, but the actors in the movie are from a variety of ethnicities -- Maori, Arab, Persian, and South Asian. While the Fire Nation ''did'' have significant numbers of dark-skinned people, they certainly weren't the majority like they're depicted here.(Originally Music/JesseMcCartney would play Zuko, whereupon the Fire Nation would also be completely white, but when the studio realized all four of the main characters would have been white, they amicably asked him to drop out and he agreed. Creator/DevPatel was then cast in his place.)

** Sokka and Katara, like most Water Tribe characters, have tan skin, dark brown hair and blue eyes. Because [[FantasyCounterpartCulture their culture is based on the Inuit]], however, many viewers think of them as Asian or Native American. In the film, they are played by white actors with brown hair and eyes.
** Background extras often don't particularly match the ethnicities of the main characters of their tribes. The Southern Water Nation tribe appear to be played by Asian and/or Inuit actors, while the Northern White Tribe is comprised mainly of white actors. There are a few white people with brown hair in large crowds of the Fire Nation.

** The Northern Water Tribes count as this. Since the Firebenders need torches to bend fire, Pakku suggests extinguishing all of them to render them powerless … which they never actually do. Most likely because in the series they ''don't'' need the torches (it's their main advantage in fact), so having it actually work would require massive story changes.

** Background extras often don't particularly match the ethnicities of the main characters of their tribes. The Water Nation tribe appear to be played by Asian and/or Inuit actors. There are a few white people with brown hair in large crowds of the Fire Nation.

** The film version of Yue is composed of the series Yue and Arnook, by having her father written off as dead at the start of the movie.
** Along with roles originally played by the animated Ozai, he played many roles of the animated Zhao. In some cases, the roles are jointly shared with the film Zhao, particularly the plan to eliminate the Ocean and Moon Spirits in the Siege of the North. The characterization for the animated Zhao is more closely depicted with this Ozai than with the film Zhao, e.g., sinister and devious, rather than cocky and ambitious.
** On the other hand, the film version of Zhao is a spun-off character, personifying a younger Zhao who served as a junior Lieutenant under General Shu (and then found the hidden library), and apparently an illegitimate son of Zhao-Ozai composite, turning the relationship dynamics between "Zhao Jr." and Zuko similar to Edmund and Edgar in ''Theatre/KingLear''.
* CompressedAdaptation: This is inevitable when you consider that Shyamalan is trying to compress ten hours of a TV series into a regular-length movie. The movie manages to condense episodes 1-3, 6, 13, and 19 and 20 (the first season two-part finale) into a rather tight series of events. Episode 4, in which the Kyoshi Warriors and Suki were introduced, was originally present but cut for the theatrical release. Everything else in the show is either simplified, vague, or presented through montage and voiceover.

** Zhao gets drowned by the waterbenders here but in the show, he suffers a FateWorseThanDeath by being banished to the Fog of Lost Souls for all eternity.

** Haru and Tyro … ahem, the Earthbending boy and his father.

** There's also Avatar Roku, who was a major player in the Avatar's quest in the show. In the movie, with the exception of a brief mention, he's completely removed and his mentor role to Aang is handled by a dragon … for some reason.

** In the show Zhao found out Zuko was the blue spirit when he visited Zuko's ship and saw his dual swords and pieced it together. But because of the condensed nature of the film, that scene never happens and there's no real clear reason as to why Zhao concludes Zuko is the Blue Spirit.

** During their escape, it takes six Earthbenders several seconds to move then throw a small rock at a Firebender; a feat that, in the series could be accomplished by a single Earthbender in an instant. It would have been faster to just pick it up and throw it manually.

* AdaptedOut: Roku’s role as Aang’s SpiritAdvisor is given to a dragon. Suki is the second most important character that got this treatment but she was in the original cut of the film and he wasn’t.

** In the show, the amber-eyed Fire Nation had heavy influence from Imperial Japan, but the actors in the movie are from a variety of ethnicities -- Maori, Arab, Persian, and South Asian. While the Fire Nation ''did'' have significant numbers of dark-skinned people, they certainly weren't the majority like they're depicted here.(Originally Music/JesseMcCartney would play Zuko, whereupon the Fire Nation would also be completely white, but Jesse resigned and was replaced by Dev Patel.)

** Every Earth and Water person in the film suffers from this. Unlike the series, Firebenders (who aren't masters) need an available source of fire in order to bend it. This is all well and good, except none of the other characters ever thinks to ''put them out''! Granted, some of the fire sources are fairly large, but nothing that couldn't be doused with a little effort. Taken to truly ridiculous extremes in the Earthbender camp when several Firebenders are literally bending from a single source they could not conceivably protect. Someone ''does'' give the order to douse the flames when the alarm bells sound … but apparently, they never got around to it, because all of the fires are still going during the battle.

* ConversationOfNinjitsu: The Fire Nation attacks one at a time as Aang and Zuko make their escape from the prison.

** The most famous is in the retelling of the episode "Imprisoned". In the show, the Earthbenders are trapped in a metal ship out at sea, far away from any sources of earth to bend [[spoiler: and metal bending had not yet been discovered at this point in the series]]. In the movie, they're imprisoned in a camp on land, which would be like building a prison and then giving all the prisoners assault rifles with infinite ammunition... and then the prisoners not using them for no adequately explained reason.

** As explained above, the movie backed itself into a corner story wise by making the reason Aang ran away being told the Avatar couldn’t have kids. If they had made more movies, they would have likely either [[HandWave handwaved]] this or had to have made [[spoiler: Zuko the illegitimate heir of Avatar Roku. Not making him the descendant of the Avatar AND the Firelord would arguably negate his whole character arc.]] It’s also established very early on in the show that Avatar Kyoshi had a daughter named Koko.

** In the show, the amber-eyed Fire Nation had heavy influence from Imperial Japan, but the actors in the movie are from a variety of ethnicities -- Maori, Arab, Persian, and South Asian. While the Fire Nation ''did'' have significant numbers of dark-skinned people, they certainly weren't the majority like they're depicted here.

** The most famous is in the retelling of the episode "Imprisoned". In the show, the Earthbenders are trapped in a metal ship out at sea, far away from any sources of earth to bend. In the movie, they're imprisoned in a camp on land, which would be like building a prison and then giving all the prisoners assault rifles with infinite ammunition... and then the prisoners not using them for no adequately explained reason.

* AdaptationalUgliness: While Cartoon!Ozai was quite handsome, this Ozai is far more average looking.

* PragmaticAdaptation: Sozin's Comet would have been established as being three years away instead of "by the end of the summer" the show had it (three television seasons = three "Winter, Spring, Summer" seasons). The production schedule of the films were expected to be two years apart and working in live-action (especially with child actors) this change makes sense. [[FridgeBrilliance The extra time would also have made Aang's mastering three whole disciplines in that span more believable.]]

* InsaneTrollLogic: After the large iceberg rises out of the sheet of ice in the middle of nowhere, Sokka advises Katara to not go near it as he believes it to be a Fire Nation trap.